ArcelorMittal Lesaka expands its environmental authorization with new boilers and measurements

The Circular Economy and Innovation Service of the Department of Rural Development and Environment of the Government of Navarra has partially accepted the change in operating conditions of the integrated environmental authorization for the cold rolling and steel coil coating plant of ArcelorMittal España SA in Lesaka. The decision is signed by the director of the service, Francisco Javier Larrañeta Nido, and is published in Resolution 376E/2026, of October 5, included in the Official Gazette of Navarra (BON) number 213, of October 26, 2026. The facility must comply with the conditions set out in the annex of the resolution.

The processing was opened under file code 0001-0121-2026-000001, with a start date of January 20, 2026, and affects the facility located in the neighborhood of Arratzubi (Arraztubi kalea 5), polygon 2, plots 669 and 670, in the municipality of Lesaka, with NIMA 3115301466 and UTM-ETRS89 coordinates, zone 30N, x: 605,127.000 and y: 4,789,282.000.

The plant held an integrated environmental authorization granted by Resolution 112/2011, of January 19, from the Director General of Environment and Water, later updated by Resolution 14E/2015, of January 16. On January 20, 2026—application 2026/57874—the holder submitted three modifications and, on July 22, 2026, responded to a request from the service and corrected two of them.

Steam Boilers: from 7.58 to 7.44 megawatts

The change finally accepted reduces the thermal power initially requested for the plant’s two steam boilers:

• Boiler 1 (plant 600): 7.44 MW of thermal power, compared to the 7.58 MW proposed in the initial application.
• Boiler 2 (plant 1250): 7.44 MW, also below the 7.58 MW from the January filing.

The service considers that this modification allows for the environmentally adequate operation of the facility and is consistent with the emission limit values and the application of the best available techniques.

Annual External Control of Source 33

The resolution also admits the new measurement regime for source 33 – VOC Oxidizer, which moves to external control via an environmental inspection entity (EIA) on an annual basis and to continuous temperature measurement. This point, along with that of the boilers, is one of the two that the service deems acceptable.

One Waste Rejected for Already Being Authorized

The third requested change does not prosper. ArcelorMittal España SA requested to include the waste “Raffia paper coil wrapping,” with EWC code 15 01 06, in Annex III, and subsequently reformulated it as “Plastic coil wrapping,” with EWC code 15 01 02. The service concludes that it cannot be accepted because that waste is already authorized in the current integrated environmental authorization.

Since the circumstances of Article 35 of the implementing Regulations of Foral Law 17/2020, of December 16, regulating Activities with Environmental Impact, are met, the modification is processed ex officio and it is not considered appropriate to subject the file to public consultation. The proposal was submitted to the holder’s hearing process for fifteen days, during which no allegations were presented.

Appeals and Notifications

The resolution, which does not exhaust the administrative route, establishes the means of challenge and the recipients of the decision:

• Administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) before the head of the Department of Rural Development and Environment within one month, for interested parties who are not public administrations.
• Contentious-administrative appeal within two months before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Navarra, without prejudice to the prior requirement before the Government of Navarra.
• Notification of the resolution to ArcelorMittal España SA, the Climate Change Office Service of Navarra, and the City Council of Lesaka.

Failure to comply with the conditions will lead to the environmental disciplinary measures of Title IV of the consolidated text of the Law on integrated pollution prevention and control, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2016, of December 16, and, subsidiarily, to the sanctioning regime of Title III of Foral Law 17/2020. The annexes are available to interested parties at the service headquarters in Pamplona, González Tablas Street, 9, ground floor, and on the Government of Navarra website.

The decision clarifies the environmental framework of a benchmark steel plant in the Sakana region, where industrial employment and the air quality of the surroundings are sensitive. The power adjustment of the boilers and the annual control of the VOC oxidizer arrive without allegations from the holder and without public consultation, such that the file is closed via administrative route unless appealed.

Source: Official Gazette of Navarra, number 213, of October 26, 2026, section 1.7. Others, page 37931 (official reference: Resolution 376E/2026).